A collection of stories, thoughts, press releases and other insights

Disruption and change in the world of business is a constant. However the rate of change and level of disruption has increased considerably over recent years and more so in the current climate of a pandemic.

Over the years, The Bakery has worked on a number of sustainability challenges. Across each of these challenges, we’ve had the opportunity to engage and collaborate with a number of trailblazing startups that we are proud to have in our network. Here are a few startups to look out for that can help your organisation and your consumers become more sustainable! 

The climate crisis is accelerating, and its implications across wildlife and natural ecosystems has become a major threat on resources which we require to exist. A glance at CO2 emissions and increasing global temperatures highlights the need for immediate action to change the current state of affairs. And while small-scale sustainable practices by individuals are crucial, it is arguably more important for large corporates to take action against climate change.

The Bakery and Earthwatch Europe are proud to announce the launch of our new initiative that will help corporations to drive forward their journey towards sustainable growth. The Bakery Sustainability Lab will enable like-minded organisations to join forces and innovate together towards the common goal of improving our sustainability, now.

Having discussed how to identify the right opportunities, what the key success metrics are, and how to achieve buy-in from key stakeholders, we’re now delving into the resources you need to get started. This encapsulates talent and team, elements you will need to guarantee that your corporate startup gets off its feet in the first place. 

In order for your corporate startup to operate effectively, it is critical to understand your success metrics. This understanding of clear success metrics will not only help you in your day-to-day operation, but will also be crucial in helping you secure buy-in from the key budget holders and decision makers within your organisation.

Large corporations have historically been successful in carving out market share, dominating various industries and launching products and services. However, with more and more newer, smaller, more agile challengers, incumbents must re-evaluate their strategy for launching new products. 

We’ve had the past couple of months to adapt to new norms, particularly in the retail and hospitality space. More so than before, retailers are expected to quickly adapt and find ways to either change the entire physical retail experience or to digitalise. Have we reached a point of no return for retail as we’ve known it?

Finding and continuously adding to our network of exciting and game-changing startups and entrepreneurs is an important part of what we do here at The Bakery. No one can deny the power of startups. Startups are typically able to build, test and launch products faster than incumbents. Leveraging this agility and expertise is a great way to help you innovate at speed.

It can often be challenging for corporations to get started in building their own startups. This is where external partners such as The Bakery come in. External venture-building partners can help corporates build new propositions without being tied down by internal red tape and processes. 

Last month we reached out to our network of innovation leaders and change makers to better understand how the pandemic has impacted innovation efforts within their corporations. Here are some of our key findings below!

With COVID-19, many of us have been thrown quite-off course and have had to scrap the plans we started the year with. This is certainly the case with businesses and markets around the world that have been severely disrupted by a global pandemic. From sudden shifts in consumer demands, reprioritisation of needs and issues within the supply-chain, if you do not quickly adapt in response to COVID, your business could be in hot water. 

Keen to learn more about Why and How Corporates Should Build Start-ups? Join us for a live discussion with plenty of opportunities for Q&A on September 16th!

The Bakery Mantras are the set of beliefs that drives our company and our approach to innovative business ideas, new opportunities, and achieving real change in large organisations. Our many years of experience and our dedication to corporate innovation, have inspired these 10 mantras which serves to remind us of the lessons we have learned. We want to share these lessons with you and help you get started on your innovation journey!

With the coronavirus pandemic, never before has technology been so crucial to the way we work and the way we live our lives. With the potential of lockdowns looming over, and the increased practice of social distancing (which is important by the way!), companies need to react or respond accordingly. A growing number of the workforce have already begun to work remotely, begging the question: how can we maintain productivity and adapt to risk in a time of such uncertainty?

Innovation is one of the biggest buzzwords in the corporate world at the moment. Everyone wants it or claims to be doing it. With the rise and power of new technologies that are (apparently) set to disrupt everyone’s business, it has never been more important to be “an innovative organisation” and to be seen to be “doing innovation”.

At The Bakery, we fundamentally believe that if you have a problem worth solving, then someone, somewhere has already solved it (or at least an aspect of it!). So rather than build in-house, why not partner with these startups? To cultivate effective partnerships with startups, it is essential to have the right building blocks for this relationship in place. Don’t know where to start? Well, we’re here to help! Read on for our top tips...

The notion of early stage technology companies matchmaking or dating corporates is nothing new. Innovation now comprises a key pillar of many corporations' strategy, with many looking to leverage open innovation as a rapid and effective means to achieve their short to mid-term goals. 

The start-up way of working (often lean and fast moving) has proven to be successful in terms innovating and building impactful solutions, which is why corporates often partner with start-ups when in need of quick wins. However, in instances where partnering is not the optimal or preferred solution - what other options are out there? 

There is no doubt that The Bakery sits in one of the most exciting, if not fast moving industries in the world: tech! So, from our learnings over the past few years we're kicking off our first article of 2020 with a few predictions we expect to see in tech this year!

In response to ever growing threats that have caused the average life-span of a company to fall significantly, we have seen the need to innovate faster and at a larger scale becoming more and more widely accepted amongst large corporations in recent years. How can this change be implemented?

Yumi Tsoy, Strategist at The Bakery, shares her findings into the sleep tech landscape following a project we worked on with AXA PPP.

Companies are upheld to higher ethical standards than ever before, and the ethics of technology is frequently called into question. But what about the role technology could play in supporting ethical decision making in itself?

Over the years, our thinking at The Bakery has evolved, as we have done more and more work with some amazing corporates and entrepreneurs around the world. Rather than describing a journey, we think of a continuum of innovation along which all corporates sit and may be moving.

With a very packed house, we kicked off our new event series, Make Innovation Happen, as an opportunity for corporates to share their key learnings, and encourage change and growth.

This October, The Bakery was invited to speak at South Summit in Madrid on the topic of corporate innovation.

Slush has become one of the most well regarded tech events, not just in Europe, but globally. Why?

Tracy Doree, Co-Founder of Kindred Capital, investor in tech start-ups, and pioneer of equitable venture, talks about the firm’s vision and plans for 2018.

At The Bakery we run challenge led accelerator programmes to connect start-ups to real revenue opportunities with our corporate clients.

Corporates are embarking on a journey as they try to innovate faster and better, while thinking and acting differently in a changing world.